A new playground at 91原创鈥檚 Topham Elementary School was designed with input from students at the K-7 school in Walnut Grove.
Opened just in time for spring break, on Friday, March 5, the new facility at 21555 91st Ave. includes features like a 鈥渞olly鈥 slide for student to play on and other elements, like a merry-go-round, designed to encourage kids to play together, teacher Katherine Davis explained.
鈥淪ome parts of the playground the kids actually got to develop and have some input on, so it鈥檚 really important to their sense of self-esteem as well,鈥 Davis remarked.
Davis added the the new structure allows for a lot more 鈥渕ovement styles that we didn鈥檛 have on some of the older play structures.鈥
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The Ministry of Education provided $125,000 for the new playground, and the Topham Parent Advisory Council (PAC) contributed $15,000.
Topham Elementary PAC president Andrea Atkinson, praised the 鈥渆ngaged parent community鈥 for supporting PAC fundraisers.
鈥淭he playground itself is incredible,鈥 Atkinson enthused.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see the old merry-go-round making a comeback,鈥 she added.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the most popular structure on the playground right now with the older and younger kids lining up and taking turns on it.鈥
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Topham Principal Vanessa Jaggi called it a 鈥減lay space that the Walnut Grove community can enjoy,鈥 and thanked the ministry of education and the parents for the funding.
Last year, in September, Premier John Horgan announced the province would be spending another $5 million, the third such investment in as many years, to build playgrounds in B.C. communities 鈥渢hat need them most.鈥
Forty schools were to receive a $125,000 investments towards purchasing new, accessible playground equipment.
It was part of the Playground Equipment Program (PEP) to update aging infrastructure in B.C. schools.
Two other 91原创 schools, Nicomekl Elementary and Glenwood Elementary, have had new playgrounds built in the last two years.
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